This month’s ruling by Justice Craig Colvin follows another Federal Court decision in August which stands as the Fair Work Ombudsman’s first successful prosecution under the new reverse onus of proof provisions of s557C of the Fair Work Act 2009, requiring employers to disprove underpayment claims if they have not kept adequate records.
The case in point involved the Lodge having to disprove the handwritten records of the two employees, as the Lodge had not kept any written records of their own. As the Lodge was incapable of supplying sufficient evidence to disprove the allegations of the hours worked by the employees, Justice Colvin accepted the accuracy of the employees’ records and ordered the employer to pay the full hours recorded by the two employees (with reductions for breaks and accommodation) plus interest, in his ruling.
This is a stark reminder to the importance of keeping appropriate timesheets, and we would like to draw members attention to the recently added Timesheet Template on the Workwise Advisory website.